Republicans' #1 Priority...

[30ashopper]

Does anybody have, or found (I haven't been able to) any estimated stats on reductions in currently high costs of EmergencyRoom services, that in many areas widely function as the 'medical care' for the uninsured? Various ER staff that I know around the country say reduced costs here "should" result in flow through reductions (but don't have any numbers).

Medicaid patients tend to make use of emergency care more than those in conventional private plans, so presumably a signifigant percentage of those costs will be shifted over to the state once the uninsured get dumped into the medicaid system.

Obamacare: Impact on the Uninsured of the Health Care Reform | The Heritage Foundation

Remaining costs will get shifted to predominately young, healthy individuals forced under penalty of law to buy coverage.

I haven't found any specific emergency serivce cost reduction numbers.

 

[30ashopper]

This is interesting:

More people are likely to turn to the emergency room for their health care and they are likely to do so more frequently under the new health reform legislation. This finding is surprising because an oft repeated argument for insuring the uninsured is that it will allow people to seek less costly and more accessible care elsewhere.

We find that emergency room costs will increase for two reasons: 1) about half the newly insured will enroll in Medicaid and Medicaid patients seek emergency room care more often than the uninsured, and 2) while the newly insured will try to increase their consumption of care, the absence of any program to create more providers will force patients to turn to emergency rooms as the outlet for increased demand.

Emergency Room Visits Likely to Increase Under ObamaCare | Publications | National Center for Policy Analysis | NCPA

With Obamacare, it would be best for you to try and stay out of the hospital since that area of the health system will be absorbing cost increases.

 

[Matt J]

Medicaid patients tend to make use of emergency care more than those in conventional private plans, so presumably a signifigant percentage of those costs will be shifted over to the state once the uninsured get dumped into the medicaid system.

Obamacare: Impact on the Uninsured of the Health Care Reform | The Heritage Foundation

Remaining costs will get shifted to predominately young, healthy individuals forced under penalty of law to buy coverage.

I haven't found any specific emergency serivce cost reduction numbers.

It's nice to see the Heritage folks aren't even attempting to hide their partisanship.

Here's a report with actual health care professionals!

Grand Rounds: the Impact of Healthcare Reform | Highlight HEALTH

This is interesting:



Emergency Room Visits Likely to Increase Under ObamaCare | Publications | National Center for Policy Analysis | NCPA

With Obamacare, it would be best for you to try and stay out of the hospital since that area of the health system will be absorbing cost increases.

Any other obvious statements the GOP would like to blow out of proportion?

"If people keep having sex we'll have more babies!"
"If fat people don't lower their caloric intake and exercise they'll stay fat!"

You're adding people to a system, more than likely there will be an increase in use of that system. :roll:

 

[Lynnie]

The point is that when you make it 'free' and have nothing in the plan to decentivise a person from using the ER, which is the most expensive delivery of medical care compared to clinics and doctor offices, you will have dramatic increases in costs and ultimately premiums or with the new plan, increases in taxes. Managed care carriers saw this trend years ago and began shifting the ER costs to the patient in an effort to direct the person to using the plan properly. Older plans had zero costs to use the ER - so, a multitude of claims were filed and paid for the common cold, etc. Then, they implemented an ER deductible of about $50/yr., then, it was per visit and I've heard of some plans now rejecting payment of the ER if it is indeed not an emergency.

Proper education and cost sharing is what is needed to keep costs from rising the way they have in the recent years.

 

[Matt J]

Yes I'm sure free or reduced health care will have people throwing themselves off roofs to break arms just to go to the emergency room.

The reason that emergency rooms are currently packed to the gills is due to a lack of health care. If you don't have the money to go to the doctor when symptoms then you wait until you going to die or can't take the pain anymore. At that point the ER has to take you regardless of ability to pay.

Any health care professional can tell you that prevention is the most cost effective, and incidentally most comfortable, way to prevent disease and other issues.

 

[Lynnie]

My post wasn't addressing the uninsured, but rather those who abuse their coverage.

 

[Matt J]

My post wasn't addressing the uninsured, but rather those who abuse their coverage.

How exactly does someone abuse something they don't have?

 

[Lynnie]

They don't. The insured abuse their coverage. And, the newly insured who aren't educated as to how the plan is designed to be cost effective AND deliver proper medical care, will naturally abuse their insurance plan. For further information regarding this concept, research this with managed care carriers. If you are looking for one of your arguments, maybe you can lure someone else to entertain you.

 

[GoodWitch58]

it seems from most of these responses, that posters would be okay with the health reform, if it was paid for...but, I wonder. This article seems to get to the heart of the debate:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/business/economy/15leonhardt.html?_r=1&hp

Guaranteeing people a decent retirement and decent health care does more than smooth out the rough edges of capitalism. Those guarantees give people the freedom to take risks. If you know that professional failure won?t leave you penniless and won?t prevent your child from receiving needed medical care, you can leave the comfort of a large corporation and take a chance on your own idea. You can take a shot at becoming the next great American entrepreneur.

With every previous major expansion of the safety net, history has had a chance to prove the naysayers wrong. It may yet in the case of universal health coverage. But the decision now seems to rest with the nine members of the Supreme Court.

 

[DuneAHH]

The reason that emergency rooms are currently packed to the gills is due to a lack of health care. If you don't have the money to go to the doctor when symptoms then you wait until you going to die or can't take the pain anymore. At that point the ER has to take you regardless of ability to pay.

Thus, medical care does, in fact, exist for uninsured Americans already.